Does the apple fall far from the tree? Heartbreaker and some of his offspring...

In this photo series we take a closer look at some of the sport’s well-known stallions, and if their offspring carry any resemblance to the sires. Heartbreaker's legacy is definitely carried on by his sons and daughters, and many of them are a lot like their dad. The stallion competed at the highest level of the sport with Dutch rider Peter Geerink in the saddle. Heartbreaker was born in 1989, sired by Nimmerdor x Silvano. Heartbreaker is also the father of other influental sires such as Quasimodo van de Molendreef and Toulon. Photo (c) Dirk Caremans/www.hippofoto.be.

Romanov is one of Heartbreaker's most well-known sons in the sport today. The 17-year-old stallion is out of a Fedor-mare, and has had lots of success under Philipp Spivey, Billy Twomey and Bertram Allen. The latter has won some huge Grand Prix classes on him; the CSI5* Longines Global Champions Tour in Paris, the CSIO5* Grand Prix in La Baule, the CSI3* Grand Prix in Dortmund, the CSI5* World Cup in Bordeaux - to mention some.

Leopold van Asten's 11-year-old top horse VDL Groep Zidane is another successful Heartbreaker-son. Zidane is out of a Calando I-mare, and is owned by Stoeterij Duyselshof. With the Dutch rider in the saddle, he has won Grand Prix classes in La Coruna twice and he was also on the winning Dutch Nations Cup team in Falsterbo this year.

Kleiner Onkel is another famous Heartbreaker-son, that is ridden by Maria Madenova. The 11-year-old stallion is out of a Corrado I-mare, and this year he jumped at the European Championships with the young Russian rider in the saddle.

Valentin R is a Heartbreaker-son seen under Michael Whitaker. The 13-year-old stallion has jumped at Grand Prix level with the British rider in the saddle, and has five-star podium finishes from Aachen, Doha, Spruce Meadows and Den Bosch.

Heidi du Ruisseau Z has been successful in the sport both under Edwina Tops-Alexander and Sam Hutton. The 11-year-old mare is out of a Darco-mother, and has jumped to five-star podium finishes in Valkenswaard, Paris, Monte Carlo, Madrid and Oslo this year.

VDL Harley is now 14-years-old, and used to be seen under Jessica Kürten. The stallion is out of a Carthage-mare, and competed at Grand Prix level with the Irish rider in the saddle. VDL Harley is now a sought-after sire himself.

USA Today is a 14-year-old stallion by Heartbreaker x Capitol I. He has had lots of triumphs under Robert Whitaker, and has been a frequent visitor to the podiums all over the world over the last five years.

Dejavu is an 11-year-old gelding by Heartbreaker x Ramiro. Under Dutch rider Gert-Jan Bruggink, Dejavu had lots of success winning the Nations Cup in Gijon as well as being on the podium in Grand Prix classes in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Maastricht and Hannover. In 2014, Bassem Hassan Mohammed took over the reins and went on to finish 4th in the Grand Prix competitions in Antwerpen and Abu Dhabi.

The tiny Beluga has won so many classes under Laura Renwick that we gave up to count. The 14-year-old mare is out of a Darnels-mother.

A famous Heartbreaker-son is Action-Breaker, that has proved to be a very successful sire himself with a huge demand for his offspring. Action-Breaker competed at the top of the sport with Sergio Alvarez Moya in the saddle, before he was retired earlier this year. Action-Breaker is 15-years-old, and out of a Lys de Darmen-mare. The stallion competed in two World Championships during his career, and at one World Cup Final in addition to being campaigned at international Grand Prix level around the world by Moya.

Hallifax van het Kluizebos can be seen under Lorenzo de Luca, and although only 8-years-old he has already jumped up to 1.50 level. Halifax is out of a Fetiche Du Pas-mare.

Haertthago is a 12-year-old mare with a Carthago Z-mother, competed by Leon Thijssen all the way up to five star Grand Prix level.